


as the pieces fall into place

by emrys (livingshitpost)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Afterlife, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Brother Feels, Brotherhood, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Love, Brothers, CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo has PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Changing Tenses, Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Needs Hugs, Family Reunions, Flashbacks, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Murder-Suicide, Not Really Character Death, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reunions, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28445823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livingshitpost/pseuds/emrys
Summary: The deaths of five men, and their subsequent reunions.
Relationships: 99 & Clone Force 99 | Bad Batch, CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo & CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives, Clone Force 99 | Bad Batch & CT-21-0408 | Echo, Cutup & Droidbait & Echo & Fives & Hevy (Star Wars)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 76





	as the pieces fall into place

**Author's Note:**

> trigger warning !!
> 
> echo's death sequence includes a flashback to him being tortured. nothing too graphic, but i figure the brief mention of needles and general sense of panic is worth mentioning.
> 
> tech's death sequence involves mutually assured destruction, but the simple fact of it is that he kills himself in combat.

Crosshair is the first to fall.

Well, Crosshair is the second to fall. The first had been 99, and he waited patiently (as always) for his brothers to follow. He didn't _want_ them to die, but he longed to see them again. To hold them in his arms and bury his face in their necks, to feel their hands on his shoulders, to knock their foreheads together.

Despite Crosshair's adversity to touch, he pulls his brother close and holds him tight against his chest. His shoulders shake. Neither of them say a word for a while.

"Do you want to talk about it?" 99 asks quietly a bit later.

Crosshair tenses. "I missed," he says simply. "Gave away my position. Got hit."

99 watches Crosshair for a moment. His hands twitch, like he wants his rifle back so he can take it apart and clean it and put it back together and then start it over again.

"Echo would've died if I didn't," comes the soft admission. "I was just drawing their fire. I didn't expect them to actually hit me."

The shift in his posture is subtle. A tension in his neck, a setting of his jaw, a furrowing of his brow. He swallows, and 99 shifts closer to gently touch his hand. Crosshair turns it over and squeezes.

"I bet they're pissed," Crosshair chuckles. "Down two of their best."

"Bet Echo's thankful," 99 argues.

"Bet he wishes it was him." He sniffs once. "Di'kut was always taking on more than he could handle. Didn't seem to really realize we were there for him. Could tell he felt like the odd man out."

"I know."

"Do you?"

Something shifts, and 99 gestures to his own stroke-slack face. It shifts back and he raises one eyebrow.

Crosshair laughs, hollow and shaken. "Right."

"Hey." 99 puts his other hand on Crosshair's shoulder. "He's not stupid. Dumbass, maybe, but not stupid. You gave your life to save him. He knows you care about him. Promise."

Crosshair nods slowly. "Yeah. Alright."

* * *

Wrecker is next to fall.

He's always been much more literal. In his understanding, and in his jokes. And in his death. He awakens gasping for breath he doesn't need, scrambling to sit up and keeping his hands firmly on the ground.

"Wrecker," Crosshair says firmly, trying to cut through the fog of his brother's panic. "You're fine. It's okay."

99 kneels down and puts a steady hand on his shoulder. "We've got you, Wreck," he says. His voice is calm and soothing; the same voice he used to use when the cadets would wake up with nightmares, unable to go back to sleep. "You're alright. You're safe. Nothing can hurt you."

Crosshair looks from 99 to Crosshair and back again, eyes wide and confused, flickering between mismatched and deep, dark brown.

"I-I don't- Cross? 99? You both-"

"Yes, Wrecker. We died." 99 keeps his hand on Wrecker's shoulder. His lower jaw trembles, but his hand remains, an anchor to keep his brother secure. 

"Did- Did I-? I was falling, and-"

"You did, Crosshair confirms. His gaze is warm and sad and almost relieved. The conflict behind his eyes is nearly tangible.

Wrecker looks down at his hands. "What about Tech? And Hunter?" His voice is thin. "Are they okay?"

"They're just fine." 99 slowly brings Wrecker to his feet. "It's alright. You did everything you could. I'm proud of you."

Wrecker stumbles, but 99 manages to keep him upright. He hardly balks when he realizes his batchmate is standing tall: He looks just like they thought he would when they were kids, what's there to be surprised about?

"Cross?"

Crosshair steps closer to his batchmates, bringing Wrecker to somewhere he can sit down. "Yeah, Wrecker?"

"This isn't . . . I'm not dreamin'?"

Crosshair shakes his head. "No, vod. This is real."

* * *

The next to fall is the final Domino.

He had been teetering for some time, now, in his opinion. Ever since Rex yanked him out of that cryogenic tube on Skako Minor, he had been on borrowed time. And he cherished it. He was glad to see his Captain again, and his General, and Kix and Jesse — less so to learn that his final remaining batchmate had died. And Hardcase, and countless others. He was glad that he didn't have to return to a home that seemed haunted by the absence of his twin. He was glad to be helping people again.

And then the Empire rose, and hunted him and his new family down.

He wakes up shaking, with a broken scream dying in his throat, inconsolable. The hands on him feel cold and sharp like needles, digging into his skin, trying to drag out information. He can't give in. He _won't_ give in. Not after all they've done for him. What kind of thanks would that be?

"Ey'ika. It's alright. I'm here. We're all right here. We've got you."

Fives. He's hearing voices again. Hearing the man he wants with him most in the world, the man he misses more than anything-

"Someone get the rest of Domino!"

Domino. _Domino._ His brothers. His batch. Stars, he misses them. He wants them back. He wants anything but this pain-

"It's alright, Echo. We've got you." Cutup tries to keep his voice steady, but his grip is white-knuckled.

"You're safe, Echo. It's okay. No more tinnies here." Droidbait scratches gently at the fine buzz of Echo's hair.

"Stop touching him," Crosshair interrupts. "He's having a flashback — he needs time to come out of it."

Hevy shoots him a look, but seeing 99's expression, removes his hands from Echo's quivering form. The rest of their batchmates do the same.

"Just talk to him," Crosshair suggests, joining the small group. He looks out of place. He _feels_ out of place. But Echo is his brother now, too. "Echo. You're dreaming. It's not real."

"We're right here," Fives murmurs. "Nobody's gonna hurt you. Promise."

Echo's shuddering slows eventually, but the shifting continues. Only his left hand remains constant. He reaches out and clutches at the first thing he can reach; the leg of Fives' pants. Fives instinctively twists his fingers into his brother's grip and holds on tight.

Echo lets out a single sob, turning on his side and curling into a crescent shape on the floor, clinging to Fives like a lifeline.

"Please," he says brokenly. "Just make it stop."

"It's over," Crosshair replies. One hand rests on Echo's arm. "It's over."

Hevy, Droidbait, and Cutup all reach out in turn to lay hands on their brother, muttering comforting words and stroking him up and down to ground him there with them. Wrecker eventually joins them. Echo crawls into his lap, with everyone else following so they can continue to comfort him. A smile eventually spreads over his face, appreciative of their touch. Without his prosthetics, he looks just as small and helpless as he feels. Nobody says a word.

* * *

Hunter is the next to fall.

He wakes quietly, without fanfare or debacle. He knows what happened. He pulls Echo close, apologizing over and over that the Empire got their hands on him. He lets Wrecker pick him up and his back cracks and pops in several places. He gives Crosshair a kov'nyn and musses his hair, like any brother would. Then his gaze falls to 99, and he falters.

"We should never've left you behind," he whispers into his brother's shoulder.

99 almost laughs. "Funny. I used to say the same thing to myself about you guys."

"That wasn't your fault," Hunter mutters. "Di'kut. We should've fought harder to get you off that wet marble. You never- You never even saw flowers like you wanted. We were going to visit you on Kamino for Life Day. It was supposed to be a surprise."

"Hey. I'm just glad I made it as far as I did." 99 wipes at the tears streaking down Hunter's cheeks. "And we can still celebrate once we're all back together, yeah? I'll just pretend I didn't know."

Hunter blinks. "Tech isn't here?"

"No." 99 gives his brother a soft smile. "We saw what you did. You saved his life."

Hunter snorts. "What is it with this batch and dying to save other people?"

* * *

Tech is the last one to fall.

The rest of them watched as he stumbled back to the Havoc Marauder, beaten and bloodied. He plugged in the datastick and sent an encrypted transmission to Dantooine. He sat alone in the cockpit for a long time, silent, until a response came through.

He set his jaw, turned the ship around, and sent out another transmission.

**_I'M HERE. COME AND GET ME._ **

It took a while for the memory banks to wipe completely. He stalled for time, fighting valiantly. Expertly. Taking down as many TIE fighters as he could until only one remained, and making sure he took it down with him.

He wakes up to see his brothers gathered around him, pulling him in for a group hug. They don't seem to care that he's still in torn blacks and dirty armor. They each hold him close and laugh and laugh, telling him "it's about time we were all together again" and "you absolute _madman,_ Tech, you really took out an entire squad of TIEs on your own like some kind of Jedi!" And when his batchers laugh, he can't help but join in.

"You idiots," he chides, but there's a grin on his face and love in his voice. "I told you when we were kids; _I_ wanted to go _first._ "

"Yeah, and I wanted a chance to blast some droids," 99 retorts with a grin. "We don't always get what we want."

But what more could he want than his brothers by his side?


End file.
